The head of Pointe-Claire’s heritage society is urging the city to adopt tougher measures against scofflaws who illegally demolish homes without a permit.

The call for tougher measures comes after a home at 4 St. Joachim Ave. in the Pointe-Claire Village that dates back some 100 years was suddenly demolished last summer without city approval.

The owner, André Meloche, eventually paid a $25,000 fine to the city, but Andrew Swidzinski, president of the Pointe-Claire Heritage Preservation Society, or Société pour la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine de Pointe-Claire (SSPPC), says that is a puny penalty for a prized property near the waterfront that Meloche purchased for $875,000 in 2019.

“It’s just seen as the cost of doing business for developers,” Swidzinski said.

The city subsequently increased the maximum fine to $250,000 for illegal demolitions, but Swidzinski said the city should have forced the new property owner to rebuild the home, known to locals as the ‘pink home’ because of its distinct stucco exterior, to the identical dimensions of its former footprint.

Keep reading in the Montreal Gazette